Can Sportscar racing ever become "environmentally friendly"?

[I Rosputnik]

(I've been wanting to have this discussion for a while now on this forum, but I'm not sure where to start, so I might as well start with the one discipline which hybrids are being developed for it.)

Here's a very simple question: Can sportscar racing ever become "environmentally friendly" with out spoiling the racing? And if there has to be compromise, how much of a compromise do you think should be taken?

And I'm not just meaning the way the car is powered, for example the way it is made.

[The Badger]

As long as you have the green parties and the cribbers complaining .... no .

People who bought a house near a track that already existed , they do the complaining .

Noise issues ..... Tell the people at Le Mans what it would mean to their towns income , if the race was to stop , they would stop their whinging once and for all .

I think sportscar racing is fine just the way it is ..... was better without the decibel issue .

Some say ..... I cant take my kid to the races cuz of the noise issue ..... well , it was worse before , like in the 70's to 80's ..... well **** them I say . If you are that caring , dont take them at all .

Stop trying to ruin our sport with your new ideas , cuz there is nothing wrong with it , except the cribbers .

There is enough positive green projects going on in the world right now , that sportscar racings little emmision footprint doesnt really come into the grand scheme of things .

I say ..... take the mufflers off , nice and loud , and let the drivers decide on the safety issues , cuz at the end of the day , its them who drive it and not some ****** in an office .

This issue winds me right up ..... please or offend .

[The Badger]

One other referance , take a look at the thread about peoples favourite racing clips ..... most of them are big and loud .

When the Chinese and the Russians , Indians , Americans and most of the rest of the world start thinking about being green , get back to me .

[JAG]

Sportscar racing will become environmentaly friendly by default because cutting edge technology is all about getting more for less.

You can argue all day long about the environmental issues but I'm embracing this trend because a/ It will bring massive investment into the sport and b/ Will lead to the development of performance road cars the average person can afford to run.

[GT6]

It depends on what you classify as enviro friendly, motor racing and particularly Le mans have been leaders in safety (disc brakes) and fuel consumption (the balance of power and consumption are major factors in an endurance race), so to some extent sportscar racing has already been reduced accidents and helped to develope better fuel consumption. The use of the dreaded diesel has also had a direct effect of more fuel efficient diesel cars being sold and hybrid cars are already creeping into sportscar racing.

So it is already happening and will continue to happen

[dxk1]

I guess it will all depend on what you call a sports car in the future. Certainly, cars with gasoline or diesel engines will not be included anymore. God only knows what they will be at some point. For my definition some engine noise is required and that will go away with the way technology is trending. Well it won't matter after December 2012 as the earth will end anyway.

DK

[NaBUru38]

Originally Posted by JAG

You can argue all day long about the environmental issues but I'm embracing this trend because a/ It will bring massive investment into the sport and b/ Will lead to the development of performance road cars the average person can afford to run.

Me too.

Originally Posted by GT6

ç motor racing and particularly Le mans have been leaders in safety (disc brakes) and fuel consumption (the balance of power and consumption are major factors in an endurance race)

So it is already happening and will continue to happen

Originally Posted by JAG

Sportscar racing will become environmentaly friendly by default because cutting edge technology is all about getting more for less.

Counter proof: Grand-Am. Cars have old-school engines and bodies. Cutting-edge technology is expensive and doesn't impact directly on the show, so it's forbidden.

If rules don't encourage development, nobody will try anything. The ACO is attracting companies that want to develop and showcase new technologies.

The thing with racing is that it's a place where everyone wants to win. And if the way to win is to increase fuel efficiency, money will be spent on that. The Porsche 911's hybrid system isn't practical for road cars, but the discoveries found can be helpful in road cars.

[AGD]

Originally Posted by JAG

Sportscar racing will become environmentaly friendly by default because cutting edge technology is all about getting more for less.

You can argue all day long about the environmental issues but I'm embracing this trend because a/ It will bring massive investment into the sport and b/ Will lead to the development of performance road cars the average person can afford to run.

You're probably right, but the ACO seems to have enough problems figuring out how to balance diesel and petrol powered cars. Maybe they are on the right path now based on the Sebring results, but can you imagine them trying to balance diesels, petrols, biofuels, hybrids, and pure electric cars all at the same time? That sounds like a mess and I'm sure the manufactures will pull all kinds of political moves to ensure their chosen technology has an edge. It could end in a messy drama that could force the ACO and company to rebuild from scratch just like in the early 90s.

In terms of environmental impact, racing is hardly Earth friendly. It is not so much the race cars that are the problem but all the trucks, airplanes, boats, and trains that have to move the cars, team members, and tools across the world as well as the transportation of all the fans to the track that keeps professional racing going.

Having said all of that, it is possible that "environmentally friendly" sports car racing can convince "car guys" that certain green technologies are ready for primetime. Those feelings could eventually trickle down to regular consumers. For example, I see people talking about the Audi R10 when discussing the merits of diesel passenger on forums that have nothing to do with racing or cars. That may allow alternative fuels to proliferate. The Porsche 911 hybrid did create quite a buzz last year at Petit amongst the automotive press and the recent announcement of the 918 RSR created a buzz. It was even one of the headline stories on my local newspaper's website. No regular gasoline powered P or GT sports car could do that. Of course, auto manufacture and racing series marketers would have to take advantage of the situation. I have little confidence that they will do something positive.

[old man]

The short answer is NO, but then that is true of motoring, never mind motor racing so it really is a question of degree, can Sportscar racing become more environmentally friendly and the answer there is yes, of course. In fact, if manufacturers are to continue their interest then it must reflect the reality of the market place where we all are finding the cost of using our cars something of a problem.

I grew up with innefficient petrol engines, as an apprentice each week I ran out of money for petrol long before pay day and the car had to go for a year or two. I have just changed from a beautiful and efficient 6 cyl, 2.4ltr petrol car that was a delight to drive to a somewhat more noisy 2.ltr turbo diesel. Can't really say I like it better until I go to the filling station, then I know why I swapped and this is the fact of life. As I write this Brent Crude is up to over $115/barrel so to remain relevant and not attract legislative attention sportscar racing, and racing in general MUST become more environmentally friendly and be seen to do so.

We have debated this before, the general opinion was as Badger's post but sadly it will not go away.

[chunder]

I think the relevance of motorsport to the environment is actually one of the biggest challenges facing the sport, not just sports cars racing.

I am not a fan of things like Le Mans or sports cars in general. I can go and watch but only out of general interest to see good drvers and quick cars.

But I will say that GT racing at so many levels makes more of an effort than just about any other form of motorsport. You have loads of bio-fuelled cars, lots of new ideas with hybrids, turbines (in the past) diesels (that have been tried and rejected by BMW in far more suitable races like WTCC) and ways of managing fuel.

I think endurance racing lends itself to manufacturers of the future more than F1 or anything else because it can actually provide useful data and ideas to manufacturers. Even in areas such as electrical and lghting, braking, gear boxes and engine part wear.

Noise is insane though, no need at all for most of these cars to be so loud, it might affect their power to make them quieter but some of them are just far too loud as in F1, that is a no brainer really. Some are, some aren't and that seems to be the weird thing? I can only preusme that power and things make the choice easier.

Think of things like rallying, drag racing, off roading, all noisy, used in a fulkl on green environment and damaging it while there? They make little effort to be green it seems so maybe we should just crack on until eveything is banned.

For m e GT racing makes far more effort than anyone else, and fiar play to them for that.

[Fogelhund]

The thought that any racing, that consumes energy, gives off emissions not to mention what goes into building these cars.... It is not, and never will be environmentally friendly.

Friendlier.. yes

[Simmi]

It's interesting to think about because I'd wager that an event like Sebring could NEVER be environmentally friendly. But that is only because the initial question is flawed in a sense.

All those RVs, transport to and from the race. The carbon footprint of the teams getting to and from the race. Test sessions etc etc etc. It's the same for any race weekend.

A motor race is never going to be environmentally friendly by definition. But that's not really what it's about.

The knock-on effect of showcasing green technology, manufacturer testing grounds and an area to pit those technologies against one another gives you the one single thing you need to not have people on your back - perception.

If this stuff ends up in our road cars and goes some way to help improve the environment in the long run then yeah this form of motorsport will jump (if it hasn't already) to the top of the green-friendly queue.

[ptclaus98]

Originally Posted by JAG

Sportscar racing will become environmentaly friendly by default because cutting edge technology is all about getting more for less.

You can argue all day long about the environmental issues but I'm embracing this trend because a/ It will bring massive investment into the sport and b/ Will lead to the development of performance road cars the average person can afford to run.

^^^^^^


Sportscar racing, especially with cars that race at Le Mans, are perfect for it. Besides, not all the green racing cars are quiet buzzing little things. The Dyson Mazda runs off isobutanol and sounds quite good.

[ptclaus98]

Originally Posted by chunder

I think the relevance of motorsport to the environment is actually one of the biggest challenges facing the sport, not just sports cars racing.

I am not a fan of things like Le Mans or sports cars in general. I can go and watch but only out of general interest to see good drvers and quick cars.

But I will say that GT racing at so many levels makes more of an effort than just about any other form of motorsport. You have loads of bio-fuelled cars, lots of new ideas with hybrids, turbines (in the past) diesels (that have been tried and rejected by BMW in far more suitable races like WTCC) and ways of managing fuel.

I think endurance racing lends itself to manufacturers of the future more than F1 or anything else because it can actually provide useful data and ideas to manufacturers. Even in areas such as electrical and lghting, braking, gear boxes and engine part wear.

Noise is insane though, no need at all for most of these cars to be so loud, it might affect their power to make them quieter but some of them are just far too loud as in F1, that is a no brainer really. Some are, some aren't and that seems to be the weird thing? I can only preusme that power and things make the choice easier.

Think of things like rallying, drag racing, off roading, all noisy, used in a fulkl on green environment and damaging it while there? They make little effort to be green it seems so maybe we should just crack on until eveything is banned.

For m e GT racing makes far more effort than anyone else, and fiar play to them for that.

It does. Noise is wasted energy, just like heat is.

[chunder]

This is not true really surely? But then again I guess an F1 car or Top Fuel dragster has so much power that it doesnt need to be quiet?

Certainly a fueller has power to waste and runs foot long headers not really an exhaust but even in the smaller clases they run headers and they are noisy so how does that work?

I would say that a straight through exhaust that is properly tuned is the most efficient way to expel gasses? Any kind of muffler that restrists the flow in any way, will quieten the engine but also take away power, or at the least re-distribute it to other areas of the powerband.

Your statement makes snese in it purest form, but an engine is always going to create heat and exhaust gas, so unless you can expel it like a dragster or F1 car you can't do much about it.

So why do cars like the OAK thigs in P2 make so much noise? When some cars in that class dont (and I dont mean the turbo ones)